Omaha poker is a derivative variant of Texas Holdem. Each of the players in an Omaha poker game is dealt 4 hole cards or private cards and such cards exclusively belong to the player that receives them. In addition to the 4 hole cards, there are also 5 community cards that are dealt face-up on what is referred to in poker parlance as the board. One of the basic rules in Omaha poker that differentiates it from Texas Holdem is the requirement for players to use 2 of them and exactly 3 of the 5 community cards on the board.

Key Differences between Omaha Poker and Texas Holdem Poker

Omaha poker adopts several rules that are also applied in Texas Holdem, although there are few distinct differences between the 2 poker game variants. A game of Omaha begins with the players being dealt 4 cards each facing down, in contrast to Holdem where 2 cards are involved. A player uses the 4 cards that are dealt to them face down and the 5 community cards that are dealt in order for them to come up with the strongest poker hand that can be possibly formed from such cards.

It is important to note that one of the key differences between Holdem and Omaha poker is the manner by which the best hands are formed. When it comes to Holdem poker, a player uses any of the possible combinations involving the 2 face-down cards or private cards and the 5 community cards in order to come up with the best hand. As options, a player may use a card from their hand and combine the card with 4 cards from the board, 2 cards from the player’s hand can be combined with 3 cards from the board, or play all the 5 community cards.

On the other hand, a player in an Omaha poker game is required to use both of their hole cards when forming the best possible hand. This means that there is no option of just one card. For instance, if a player in an Omaha poker game is dealt with Ah – Kd cards face down and the community cards are composed then the best possible hand for the poker game is an Ace high hand and a high Flush is not possible, since the player must use both of the face-down cards.

For the same set of face-down cards and community cards, a player in a Holdem poker game can come up with an Ace high flush hand with hearts, since players are allowed to use just one of the 2 hole cards, although this is not possible in an Omaha poker game. In addition to the points earlier discussed, there is also another slight difference between Omaha poker and the other poker game variants. The former variant is typically considered a high/low split card game and it is sometimes called Omaha/8 or Omaha HiLo. This is a poker game where the pot is split between the lowest and the highest hands.

There are Main Types of Omaha Poker:

No Limit Omaha Poker Game This is the type of Omaha Poker where it is possible for a player to make a bet of any amount and up to a maximum bet corresponding to all of their chips.
This is the type of Omaha Poker where the bet of a player is limited to what is actually inside the pot.
Limit Omaha Poker This is the type of Omaha Poker game where a betting cap or limit is applied for each of the games as well as for each of the betting rounds.

Playing a Game of Omaha Poker

The betting for each round starts with the player occupying the seat immediately to the left of the poker game’s big blind. And when each of the players has received their respective 4-hole cards, the betting action commences following in a clockwise direction and the first bet is made by the player who is under the gun or the next player immediately next to the big blind following a clockwise sequence

The betting actions for Omaha poker as with the other variants of the card game include fold, bet, check, raise, and call. The betting option that is chosen by the player will largely depend on the action or decision of the previous card player. A poker player will always have the choice of folding and disposing of their cards and such an action means the player is giving up their interest in the poker game.

If there are no bets that have been made, then a poker player may choose to either check, which means to decline to make a bet while deciding to keep their cards or place a bet. In the event that the player decides to place a bet, then the subsequent poker players can call, raise or fold. When a player decides to raise, this means that they increase the previous bet and when a player decides to call, this means that the player matches the amount of bet made by the previous player.

This action commences with the one occupying the position that is on the left side next to the big blind. And this is considered in the bet for the betting round. This is the card player who has the option to raise, call or fold. For instance, in a round of the poker game where we have $2 as the big blind, it would cost the player $2 when they decide to call and it would cost them at least $4 when they decide to raise. The same action is replicated by the other players as it proceeds following a clockwise direction around the poker table. The betting action of the players proceeds until all of the players that have not folded have placed their respective bets in the pot that are of equal amounts.

The Flop

Once the initial round of betting has been completed, the, which is the collective term used to refer to the first 3 community cards that are made available to the active poker players, is dealt on the board face up. The play begins with the first active poker player immediately to the left of the button following a clockwise direction. In a Limit Omaha poker game, all the bets as well as the raises by the players occur in amounts that are equal to the small bet.

The Turn

When the betting action by the players for the flop round is complete, the turn, which is the term used to refer to the 4th community card, is dealt on the board face up. The play also commences with the active player immediately from the button following a clockwise direction. And just like with the flop, the bets as well as the raises made by the players occur in amounts that are equal to the big bet.

The River

As soon as the betting action by the players for the round is complete, the river, which is the term used to refer to the 5th and 6th community card, is dealt on the board face up. Betting action commences with the active poker player immediately left of the button following a clockwise direction.

The Showdown

If there are at least 2 active poker players that remain when the last betting round ends, the last player to make a bet or raise will reveal their cards. However, if there are no more bets during the final round, then the player occupying the seat immediately left of the button following a clockwise direction will have to reveal their cards.

The poker player who ends up with the best 5-card combination is automatically declared the winner of the pot. You have to remember that the players in Omaha poker are required to use 2 of their hole cards and these must be combined with exactly 3 from the community cards. In cases where there are identical cards, the pot for that round will be equally shared by the concerned players. After the pot is won by the player with the best hand for a particular round, a new round of poker is played, and the button now shifts to the next player following a clockwise direction.

This might sound shallow, but my first impression of Royal Panda Casino was positive because their website looks great and the logo cleverly and subtly manages to make a crown look like a panda’s face, or should that be the other way around? This casino is one of a seemingly endless batch of new web-based casinos featuring games from Net Entertainment and Microgaming’s Quickfire platform. These games are everywhere these days, and it takes something more special than a well-designed logo to make a new casino stand out from the crowd. We took a look to see how Royal Panda stacks up.
Software and game selection

The game collection at Royal Panda is very good. The Microgaming Quickfire platform integrates a selection of the best games developed by Microgaming over the last decade. Some of Microgaming’s more well-known slot machines include Playboy, Jurassic Park, Immortal Romance, Avalon, and Thunderstruck II. These first-class games are bolstered by fresh new titles from smaller independent developers such as Quickspin, NextGen, Leander Games, and more. There are also a full collection of Net Entertainment slot machines, which are up there with the best on the market today. New and popular titles include South Park, Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, Jack Hammer, and Aliens. In all I counted over 200 slot machines to pick from, mostly 5 reel video slots, but also including 20-odd 3 reel classic-styled machines.

The majority of the table games at Royal Panda are provided by Net Entertainment. This is a good thing as the games are more modern and polished than Microgaming’s offerings. There are multiple variants of Roulette and Blackjack, along with Baccarat, Caribbean Stud, Texas Hold’em, Casino Hold’em, Red Dog, Craps, and Oasis Poker. Those of you that prefer your action dealt with by a live dealer have the choice of live Blackjack, Baccarat, Casino Hold’em, and Roulette. The studio-based tables are supplied by specialist live gaming provider Evolution Gaming. Table limits go as high as 500 per hand on blackjack for the virtual games, and up to 5000 on the live dealer tables. There are also 12 different video poker games to choose from, along with a few miscellaneous parlor games and scratchcards.

Compared to the many similar web-based casinos that I have played at recently, I was not blown away by the interface at Royal Panda. It uses a standard grid layout of game logos and categorizes the games into sections using tabs. There are two sorting options that you can apply to each tab: by popularity and alphabetically A-Z. The site has a search box, but despite not having an accompanying submit button, it is not “live” like many other sites and instead relies on you to hit enter to perform your search. I was a little miffed the first time I typed something there and waited while nothing happened (yeah sure, first-world problems). When you change the tab, sort preference, or perform a keyword search, the site re-lists the games without reloading the entire page which is nice, but the indicator that tells you it is working is so small and inconspicuous that a couple of times I missed it and thought that the site had not registered my clicks. So overall it is not the best user interface I have seen, but it is far from the worst.
Banking and support options

There is an extensive list of payment methods that you can use to deposit your money into a Royal Panda account. Almost all of them credit funds to your account instantly and allow you to be playing without delay. deposit, and a bank wire transfer. , the withdrawal to a Skrill account was paid in a little over 24 hours, which is very good.

There is a useful help tab located on the right of your browser window everywhere you go on the website. . responded to via email call to Malta. The live chat facility is one of the better ones I have ever seen at an online casino. The chat client keeps a history of your discussion even after you close the window, My talk with the staff via the live chat was handled politely and professionally,

This might sound shallow, but my first impression of Royal Panda Casino was positive because their website looks great and the logo cleverly and subtly manages to make a crown look like a panda’s face, or should that be the other way around? This casino is one of a seemingly endless batch of new web-based casinos featuring games from Net Entertainment and Microgaming’s Quickfire platform. These games are everywhere these days, and it takes something more special than a well-designed logo to make a new casino stand out from the crowd. We took a look to see how Royal Panda stacks up.
Software and game selection

The game collection at Royal Panda is very good. The Microgaming Quickfire platform integrates a selection of the best games developed by Microgaming over the last decade. Some of Microgaming’s more well-known slot machines include Playboy, Jurassic Park, Immortal Romance, Avalon, and Thunderstruck II. These first-class games are bolstered by fresh new titles from smaller independent developers such as Quickspin, NextGen, Leander Games, and more. There are also a full collection of Net Entertainment slot machines, which are up there with the best on the market today. New and popular titles include South Park, Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, Jack Hammer, and Aliens. In all I counted over 200 slot machines to pick from, mostly 5 reel video slots, but also including 20-odd 3 reel classic-styled machines.

The majority of the table games at Royal Panda are provided by Net Entertainment. This is a good thing as the games are more modern and polished than Microgaming’s offerings. There are multiple variants of Roulette and Blackjack, along with Baccarat, Caribbean Stud, Texas Hold’em, Casino Hold’em, Red Dog, Craps, and Oasis Poker. Those of you that prefer your action dealt with by a live dealer have the choice of live Blackjack, Baccarat, Casino Hold’em, and Roulette. The studio-based tables are supplied by specialist live gaming provider Evolution Gaming. Table limits go as high as 500 per hand on blackjack for the virtual games, and up to 5000 on the live dealer tables. There are also 12 different video poker games to choose from, along with a few miscellaneous parlor games and scratchcards.

Compared to the many similar web-based casinos that I have played at recently, I was not blown away by the interface at Royal Panda. It uses a standard grid layout of game logos and categorizes the games into sections using tabs. There are two sorting options that you can apply to each tab: by popularity and alphabetically A-Z. The site has a search box, but despite not having an accompanying submit button, it is not “live” like many other sites and instead relies on you to hit enter to perform your search. I was a little miffed the first time I typed something there and waited while nothing happened (yeah sure, first-world problems). When you change the tab, sort preference, or perform a keyword search, the site re-lists the games without reloading the entire page which is nice, but the indicator that tells you it is working is so small and inconspicuous that a couple of times I missed it and thought that the site had not registered my clicks. So overall it is not the best user interface I have seen, but it is far from the worst.
Banking and support options

There is an extensive list of payment methods that you can use to deposit your money into a Royal Panda account. Almost all of them credit funds to your account instantly and allow you to be playing without delay. deposit, and a bank wire transfer. My test withdrawal was held while I was asked to provide proof of identification via email. Once this was supplied and approved, the withdrawal to a Skrill account was paid in a little over 24 hours, which is very good.

There is a useful help tab located on the right of your browser window everywhere you go on the website. One-click of that and a sidebar slides out with the option of contacting support via live text chat, email, or telephone. Royal Panda responded via email call to Malta. The live chat facility is one of the better ones I have ever seen at an online casino. The chat client keeps a history of your discussion even after you close the window, so there’s no chance of accidentally closing it and losing the transcript that you wanted to copy and paste or refer to.

Royal Panda’s website is protected by an encrypted SSL connection that ensures the privacy of your gameplay and financial transactions. As mentioned earlier, identity verification is carried out via email, instead of the preferable upload over an encrypted SSL connection. The casino is licensed and regulated by the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority, and it has a provisional license to accept UK players from the UK Gambling Commission. The Net Entertainment games all publish their theoretical RTP numbers in the game help files, but apart from that I was unable to find any audited payout reports or RTP figures for the other games on the site.

The bonus system used at Royal Panda is worth commenting on because it is a little unique. When you deposit, you may be given a bonus, but when you start playing you will play with your cash deposit first. Should you hit a big win and want to withdraw while playing with your cash deposit, you can forfeit the bonus right there and then, and withdraw your cash winnings. I have seen similar systems at other casinos, but what makes this one different is that only wagers made with your cash deposit count toward meeting the bonus wagering requirement. This means that once you dip into the bonus funds, you can keep playing and win more bonus money, but your wagering requirements will never go down until you deposit more cash and wager that. In that sense, the bonuses at Royal Panda are more or less post-wager rewards, rather than upfront bonuses.

There are comprehensive responsible gaming controls available in your player account settings. You have the ability to set daily or weekly deposit limits, loss limits, and wager limits, or you can self-exclude yourself from the casino up until a specific date, or forever. There is also a unique session limit feature that allows you to set a reminder that will appear on the website at a defined interval, which presents you with the option of stopping and logging out or continuing playing. It is impressive to see a casino giving its customers options such as these, rather than just talking about how they care for their players’ welfare.